Article: Fantagio staff member's girl group advertising fee fraud....sentenced to 10 months in prison

Source: Newsis

A former Fantagio staff member has been sentenced to prison for fraud.

Judge Kim Sang-Kyo of the Seoul Central District Court sentenced 'A', a 40 yr old former Fantagio employee to 10 months in prison for fraud and other charges. His friend, 'B', also 40, was sentenced to 6 months in prison with a 2 yr suspension.

A was on trial from December 2016 to February 2018 on charges of misappropriating a total of 105 million won, a 20% commission fee on each contract, by using his friend B's agency, while overseeing the endorsement activities of Fantagio's agency artists.

Investigations found that B was not actually involved in the endorsement process but for aiding in the scheme B pocketed 8.6 million won and A took 96.7 million won. The defrauded contracts were for endorsement deals involving Fantagio girl groups Weki Meki and Hello Venus.

Judge Kim explained his reasoning for sentencing stating, "In total, A&B defrauded a total of 100 million won from the victims. In particular, the person that facilitated the crime violated his duties and pocketed a majority of the funds. As such, severe punishment is inevitable. However A appears to be reflecting on his crime and has no prior record of criminal activity."

"In the case of B, he appears to have been a passive participant in the crime at the suggestion of A and his share of benefits from the crime wasn't significant."